The Fourth Wall
by Dutchman89
Summary: Set at the very beginning of Silence Of The Lambs, does not follow canon. After Lecter has Miggs kill himself which in this fic has nothing to do with Clarice , our favourite cannibal gets a new neighbour. Rated for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** The Fourth Wall

**Author:** Slashydutchie

**Rating: **R

**Pairing: **Possible Lecter/OMC, not sure where this one'll take me.

**Genre:** Good question… mostly thriller and psychological elements I guess.

**Summary: **Set at the very beginning of Silence Of The Lambs, does not follow canon (you could fire a cannon from this fic without worrying about hitting canon, bad pun resulting from a Dutch figure of speech intended) After Lecter has Miggs kill himself (which in this fic has nothing to do with Clarice), our favourite cannibal gets a new neighbour.

**Disclaimer:** Once I'm done with everyone and everything that belongs to other people, I'll let them out of my basement and return to their respective owners… I promise. So, no… nothing and no-one you recognize belongs to me. The OMC does, of course.

**A/N:** I'm probably just gonna start a bunch of fics starring Lecter and an OMC, see where they take me. There's always a chance they won't get finished… but I hope it's worth the gamble.

* * *

"Is it true?" 

James Martin, 35, father of two, couldn't contain himself any longer. He was new at this particular branch of the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. This was where the REAL predators lurked and currently he was helping couple workers fit in a new front to a cell that would allow the institution to harbour one of the most dangerous men in the country, perhaps the world.

Now James didn't scare easily. He'd worked with criminals for all his life and his father had been a prison warden, after all. The man could usually adapt easily and was well capable in his field of work. Hell, even Hannibal 'The Cannibal' Lecter hadn't been too much of a problem after Barney had formally introduced him.

Yet… there was something about having two highly intelligent serial killers in one cellblock, right next to each other in fact, that didn't feel right to him. Especially considering their… similar tastes, so to speak.

"From what I've heard, yes," said the man who was currently occupied with the placing of big, sturdy bolts.

"Real nutjob, this one… will suit his neighbour just fine."

The last bit made James roll his eyes. Great. He knew Lecter would be listening and a comment like that would just serve to make the man cranky. Not that he would ever show it outright, Lecter was far too sophisticated for something that childish, but you would know in subtle ways.

Right now, for instance, a quick glance into the cell showed Lecter almost visibly thinking of recipes.

Well, maybe it was that… or it could just be his tired brain imagining things. He had after all just pulled a double and was going into the triple. It was an easy way for him to get away from home after a fight with his wife. Maybe it was weak of him, but James often felt he had almost a split personality. Inside the prison walls he was big and strong, one of life's chasers… outside, well our dear James was a runner. Plain and simple.

This doesn't matter.

This story isn't about James.

The only reason of his mention was the thing he said next.

"They call him Sweeney Todd for a reason."

**A/N: Yeah, that WAS mean, wasn't it?**


	2. Chapter 2

There was no jingling of chains. There were no orders to walk faster. There were no instructions shouted. There was the sound of the doors slamming, but that was already after Hannibal had detected the new arrival.

Long before the tell-tale sound, Lecter had moved towards the glass wall of his cell. He wasn't approaching it as a barrier. In fact, he acted as if the entire thing didn't exist. It was simply his choice to stop there and look into the hall.

There was a smell that couldn't be ignored.

It was new and, even the good doctor had to admit -if only to himself-, exciting. This wasn't the by now familiar stench of first-timers, be they from Jack Crawford's merry band of fools or elsewhere. No… this was by far more subtle. Hannibal could smell fear, he could also smell the absence of it. The latter was often found with the more daft murderers, who were simply too dumb to be afraid.

This was neither.

This new one smelled of someone who may have fears, but also formidable self-control. This one was capable of keeping himself and his feelings in check. Soon after the slamming of the doors, the sound of footsteps and breathing reached his ears.

Three men walking, four men breathing. Apparently Chilton had considered this new arrival worthy of the same 'treatment' Hannibal himself was given. It wasn't difficult to distinguish between the breaths. Some were excited, others fearful… there was a whole scala of tiny breathsounds that gave away emotions.

Save for one.

One of the breaths was tightly controlled. Unworried, in a way. Besides that, very little could be distilled from it. Even for someone as skilled as Lecter.

What did tell him a lot was the sight that greeted his maroon gaze once the men were close enough.

His new 'neighbour' was a relatively young man, Lecter placed him in his mid- to late twenties, with the self-control of a much older man. The man's hair was jet-black and his eyes the iciest of sapphire. There was the presence of a small beard on his face, but absolutely no stubble. The parts that were hairless were perfectly so, almost as if there was no hair growth there whatsoever. He looked almost regal, even if he was strapped securely to the cart, like a king humouring his subjects by allowing them to drive him around.

It appeared there was something special about his left hand.

Where standard security procedures were deemed enough for his right, the young man's left hand was secured in ways that did not only border on the extreme. On closer inspection, it was clear they had left 'extreme' behind ages ago and had never looked back. Most of his face wasn't very visible due to the wire mesh half-mask that was used as a sort of muzzle, but his eyes were ever so clear.

And they were boring straight into Hannibal's own.

**A/N: **Yeah, I know the first chapters are short. They'll probably get longer as I go along.  
**A/N2: **Any and all input would be great. Love it, happy to hear it. Hate it, still happy to hear it. Especially if you can tell me why. Got an idea or suggestion? Also very happy to hear and possibly use those.


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